Wye Oak State Park consists of 29 acres, much of which protects the stream valley behind the park from development. This park was designed to protect the Wye Oak Tree which toppled on June 6, 2002. A pavilion containing a section fo the Wye Oak trunk and the original tree site can be viewed daily from sunrise to sunset. Standing quietly next to the Wye Oak is a 1 1/2 story brick structure dating back to colonial times that was once used as a one-room schoolhouse. The school house is believed to be the second oldest school in Talbot County. The Queen Anne Garden Club restored the "Little House," as they affectionately called it, in 1952. The foundation was strengthened, windowpanes repaired and a walkway laid. The restored interior was furnished with a schoolmaster's desk and stool, a long pine table and benches, and a dunce stool. Planning is currently underway to develop an interpretive display of the history of the Wye Oak Tree.

”The Wye Oak was a spectacular giant and there can be little question that my grandfather, Fred W. Besley, Maryland’s first State Forester was inspired by it and that it added to his determination to establish the Big Tree Champion Program here in Maryland. When he first saw the tree in 1909 he had already noted the impressive number of big trees here in Maryland and was beginning to collect information about them… As time passed he began to be more and more systematic in making measurements and taking photographs of big trees. He worked almost alone for 15 years in documenting them.” – Kirk Rodgers